Nocturne of Strife
by Cerberus of the Three Swords
Summary: Harry discovers that there are more terrifying and powerful forces in the world than a Dark Lord with daddy issues.  He has the unfortunate pleasure of coming face-to-face with one of these forces...


**Nocturne of Strife**

**Prologue: Dawn of Night**

He was sprinting, the soles of his shoes slapping against the stone floor. He had to try and lead them away from his friends and hide this thrice damned orb. He looked back at the black robes and white masks of his pursuers as they weaved past various obstacles. He snarled at their following forms and flung open the heavy black door in front of him and ran into the circular room. The door he had just gone through snapped closed behind him and he barely got a locking charm on it before it, along with all the other doors, started spinning around him.

Fifteen year old Harry Potter sank to his knees and glared at the black blurs that spun around him as he panted. He was a teenager of average height with a thin frame and weary look in his sparkling emerald eyes. Despite this, his lips still in a snarl, eyebrows furrowed, and head held high; he carried himself as if he could conquer the world as long as he put his all into it. His pale skin shined with sweat as his bony chest expanded and contracted rapidly, lungs taking in as much oxygen as possible. He swallowed some excess saliva as he was kneeled on the ground, prophecy orb in one hand and wand in the other.

The black blurs started solidifying into doors as the spinning slowed. Harry pulled himself to his feet as the doors came to a halt. He dashed to the nearest door and tried to open it without avail. He heard pounding fists from a door across the room and tried an unlocking charm… Still nothing.

Harry realized this must be the door that had melted Sirius' knife earlier. He turned to look at the others doors as he heard spellfire and shouts from them. He couldn't be sure if he would just walk straight into a Killing Curse or not if he just opened a door. Harry put his ear to the door in front of him and only heard the sound of his heart and his own breathing. He decided this door was his best bet if he could just open it. Harry nodded his head as he steeled his will and slammed his shoulder against the door.

His reward was a bruised shoulder and defiant door.

Harry growled at the door and lashed forward with a solid kick. It didn't even budge.

Again and again, Harry slammed his foot or shoulder against the door. A solid 'thump' accompanied every strike.

"C'…mon…you…bloody…door…open…_**up**_**!**" Each word was followed by a strike; each more powerful than the last. With a final yell Harry smashed his shoulder against the door one last time. It still would not move.

Harry slumped against the door as the pounding from the other door increased. He sighed and looked up at the door behind him. Said door seemed to glare down at him in an imperial manner.

Harry shook his head as shouts started coming with the pounding against the door. Harry smirked in a tired manner; he was glad he learned several variants of the locking charm while studying for that stupid tournament last year, it really came in handy.

The smirk slowly slipped from his face as he looked up at the door behind him while weighing his options.

Option one: Go through a different door, risk running right into the middle of a duel, find his friends, and get the hell out of here.

Drawbacks: Very likely that he would encounter Death Eaters, injure himself or others as he searched for his friends, and possibly have one or more of his friends used as hostages.

Option two: Find way out of here now and get help from the Order or Aurors or _someone_…

Drawbacks: Likely his friends will be captured and taken away and probably wouldn't find help anyway.

Option three: Get through this door and keep the Death Eaters occupied so that friends can escape and help could arrive to save him…hopefully.

Drawbacks: Possibility Death Eaters would still capture his friends or his friends would be all noble and _decide to stay_. And lastly, possibility that help would not come and be stuck in the room without any way out.

Harry considered the various options and decided if this situation was just a little less serious, he would take option one. Unfortunately, it was very serious and he didn't want to be put in a position where he had to choose between his friends and the prophecy that would give Voldemort some kind of advantage. Option one, no go.

Option two shouldn't even be an option. If he just high tailed it out of here like some kind of coward he would never be able to forgive himself or face his friends. Option two, no go.

Option three…was not as dangerous as Option one or as cowardly as Option two but the one counting the most on luck. Harry gulped down his indecision and decided if one and two were unacceptable then Option three was the only choice.

He got onto his hands and knees and turned to face the door. He placed his hands on the door and said to himself, "I'm going to get into this room and find a safe place to hide this stupid prophecy," he glared down at the glowing orb, " and keep the Death Eaters occupied so that everyone can get away, and wait in here until help arrives."

Feeling a little melodramatic, he pulled himself onto his feet and uttered, "This room will be my sanctuary."

The door before started glowing red as the room around him darkened and steel bars fell down across all the other doors. Harry started breathing fast again as the room continued to darken and sound faded away. The only light in the room was the steady and strengthening red glow of the black door before him. He jumped back and widened his stance and held onto the prophecy and his wand with a death grip as one thought went through his head, 'What did I do now…?"

The door blazed crimson as the black paint flew off in a rush like a pile of leaves in autumn. Harry covered his head and dropped to the ground as the black feathers of paint flew over him and disappeared into the darkness behind him, settling without a sound.

Harry looked up cautiously, after a moment, only to see the transformation the door went through. It was a stunning white metal door with a blood red cross bordered with black. It gleamed in a cold manner and pulsed with a steady crimson throb. Almost like…

Thump…thump

Thump…thump

Thump…thump

A heart… Harry swallowed as an unexplainable fear crept into his core and shrouded his very being. His knees shook and his hands became slippery as a cold sweat dripped down his spine. His lungs felt constricted and cried out in agony as sweet air was denied. As his vision started to darken around the edges while he gazed at the plain yet beautiful door, he couldn't help but wonder why he was so scared… He'd never been this scared… Not even facing a dementor was he this scared… It was suffocating… Like someone had their hands on his throat and were slowly squeezing… Was he just going to give in so easily...?

With that defiant thought, the pressure on him seemed to fade and his vision sharpened. His fear, however, did not ebb away in the slightest. Harry took a deep breath as he commanded his feet forward, "Move, damn it…"

His right foot inched forward and seemed to gain momentum. His left foot followed until he once again stood before the door. He transferred the prophecy in his left hand into his pocket and then reached his hand out to the white knob slowly…

What was on the other side of this door? His hand settled on the painfully cold handle and tightened his loose grip.

He opened the door with excruciating slowness. He stabbed his wand into the darkness that seemed to weigh down on him like a heavy load and intoned, "Lumos."

From his wand erupted a fountain of white light that pierced the shadows. It showed a large room with a high ceiling furnished with a large bed, plain desk, plain dresser, toilet and shower area, carpet, and tile. The tile was present in the area around the toilet and shower while carpet covered the rest of the floor. All these things were white. A white so pure it hurt to look at after a while.

Harry walked further into the room as his fear started to wane; what was so horrible about a bedroom with what looked like super soft bed. Harry looked around once more; confirming no one else was in the room and closed the door behind him. It clicked shut with little fanfare but it also seemed to turn on the lights, because as soon as it closed, bright fluorescent-like light filled the room from an unseen source and amped up the whiteness factor of the room to a whole new level.

Harry shielded his eyes with his left hand as he scanned the room again; still nothing… He shrugged before locking the door behind him with a locking charm after which he made his way over to the bed and threw himself onto it face down. It was at that moment Harry realized something as he took a deep breath of the scent of the comforter…

The whole room was filled with these two smells that smelled like… Well… Harry really couldn't describe what they smelled like exactly but he imagined if you could smell beauty and elegance, this would be it.

Harry rolled onto his back, hand still covering his eyes, and took in a deep breath. It was…soothing.

He placed his wand besides him with his right hand, left still covering his eyes, and tried to withdraw the prophecy from his left pocket. It was a little difficult to get it with his right hand because it was jammed in there pretty tight. He became frustrated and removed his left hand, glaring down at his pocket, and finally got it free with a grunt of exasperation.

He tossed it next to him and laid back and looked at the ceiling…

…

…

…

Above him was a woman with long white hair, crimson eyes, and slightly pointed ears. She certainly didn't look pretty while snarling down at him with those fangs. It really didn't help she was currently crouched on the ceiling, as in upside-down, flexing some super long, also super sharp looking, claws.

All the fear that had disappeared came back twenty fold. This was no woman, this was a demon… Harry was ready to piss himself as she asked one thing in a beautiful but angry, deathly angry, voice, "**What the fuck are you doing in my room **_**on my bed?**_"

Harry could hardly breathe, never mind talking. She growled at him and lunged from the ceiling. As her deadly claws came closer and closer, Harry's vision grew darker…darker…black.

_Sometime Later_

When Harry started stirring and opened his eyes, he was greeted with the curious face of the most beautiful woman…_ever_. Her eyes were large and a beautiful cardinal red that seemed to gaze down at him with confusion while her full lips pouted at him. Her small but straight nose seemed to twitch once and awhile, as if she smelled something but couldn't put her finger on what it was. Her skin was a creamy caramel color that glowed with an ethereal light and her hair was like starlight, caught in a breeze all its own.

She wore a white metal collar with the same red and black bordered cross on the door. Her clothes consisted of a white sweater and white pants. These clothes did nothing to hide her larger-than-average perky breasts and firm shapely behind.

Harry's face glowed red as he realized that he was ogling her openly when she was right in front of him_ and looking directly at him_.

Harry looked off to the side and saw that he was still in the white room and still laying on the bed.

"So, are you going to answer my question?"

Harry almost moaned in pleasure; the voice was not music, but nectar of the gods to his ears. It was as if flutes and violins were played in such a manner to make them speak the words of man.

The beautiful creature next to him shifted slightly and, like a reflex, Harry's head turned towards her and his eyes drank in her movements.

She was smirking now, a dangerous yet beautiful smirk.

She spoke again, "I apologize. I forgot the effect I have on untrained humans."

Harry was so lost in the beautiful curving and straightening of her lips and the dancing of her tongue as she spoke that he missed the fact she had called him human, as if she was not. The woman's smirk became a feral grin, showing her perfectly white and perfectly straight teeth.

She reached forward with soft hands and held Harry's face. Harry gasped in pleasure; they were cool to the touch and felt like fine silk. He was almost compelled to look into her eyes, her beautiful eyes.

She cooed, "What pretty eyes you have…"

Harry felt more accomplished with that one compliment then he ever had in his whole life. He felt as if he could climb Mt. Everest and shout to the whole world in joy.

As he looked into her eyes, he noticed the color seemed to pulse with light in a hypnotic manner. Suddenly, the sounds of harps or some similar instruments filled his thoughts. "Lyres," she corrected.

Harry just looked up at her, enraptured in her eyes. She now had a small smile on her face that radiated kindness and trust. Harry was lost to the world.

"So…why are you in my room?"

Harry was in pure bliss as she spoke. "Focus," she commanded.

Harry's head cleared enough for him to answer her question in broken fragments, "Searching for safety… Hide prophecy… Distract Death Eaters… Friends escape… Waiting for help…"

She smiled again, "Well, don't worry about a thing… You'll be safe here along with your prophecy…"

The woman licked her lips as her eyes suddenly became crimson. She chuckled, "Now just lay back and look pretty…"

Harry couldn't even move as she took off his shirt.

Somewhere in the deepest depths of his mind he was screaming. Commanding his body to move.

It was a futile attempt…

_An Hour Later_

"Well, Harry, it wasn't the best I've ever had, but it's been such a long time that it doesn't even matter." She finished with a smirk as she finished putting on her sweater and buttoning up her pants.

Harry lay limply on the bed, lower half covered by the white comforter, as his bare chest shined with sweat.

He didn't even acknowledge the fact he never told her his name. Deep inside, where he was still aware, he was cursing the woman who had practically _raped_ him. Hot tears of anger streamed down the face of his inner self. He loathed himself for falling to this woman…_no, __**monster**_ so easily.

She peered back at him as she finished adjusting her clothes and their eyes met. They were pulsing with color again. She turned to face him and she cooed in a scolding manner, "Oh, no. That just won't do… I can't have you _resisting _me."

With that last statement, his inner awareness was brutally crushed and he became a vegetable. She squealed in an excited manner, "I do love the ones that try to fight! So entertaining!" She laughed a beautiful laugh that further imprisoned Harry's mind.

Fragments of awareness hissed at the woman from within his mind. She cast another look at him and smirked, "You are a fighter, aren't you? Very impressive for a human; even an ancient would have trouble fighting me…"

She glared down at her collar and said, "Then again, this thing restrains most of my power." She sneered down at it and returned her attention to her plaything and smiled, "What fun I will have…but first…"

Her eyes glowed red as she walked forward to Harry and straddled his stomach and focused her attention on the scar, "Now, why would you have an extra soul in you, I wonder?"

Harry stared at her blankly. She smirked, "No matter. An extra treat for me."

She leaned forward and laid a soft sensual kiss on the scar. She flicked out her tongue and gave it a slow feathery lick. Harry shivered involuntarily and returned to his vegetable state. The woman smirked.

She fastened her lips around the scar and started suck on the skin softly. Harry went rigid; his fingers like claws, legs extended, back arched, and every muscle taunt like steel cables.

Pain unlike anything he had ever felt before wracked his body as his scar felt like it was bursting at the seams. The woman started leaning back, and as she pulled away, a tendril of green and black energy followed, connected to her plump lips.

She seemed to suck in as the tendril and Harry both screamed. She smiled as she continued her work; the screams were like the sweetest duet she had ever heard. With one last tug, the tendril was pulled from the scar and disappeared behind the woman's lips. She swallowed slowly, relishing the taste.

"What a dark soul. It was positively evil." She licked her lips, savoring the memory of the soul.

She looked down at Harry and saw his scar bleeding while his body was still locked in agony. She smiled and said mockingly, "Don't worry, I'll make you all better…"

She leaned forward again and licked away the blood, staining her lips red, and licked the scar slowly until it sizzled and healed; leaving just a silvery lightning bolt. She smirked as she let her hands run up and down his chest, feeling the tension in his body. The woman promised, "I'll get you to loosen up."

She placed a soft kiss upon his lips and slowly started a one sided tongue war before kissing her way to his chin and along his jaw. She reached his neck and made her way to the pulsing of his artery. She suckled on it lightly and traced it with her tongue. Her eyes shown crimson again and her canines lengthened into fangs.

She smirked and said to her self, "Bon appétit…" She placed her fangs on the artery and slowly sunk the fangs into Harry's flesh. She slowly removed her fangs and was greeted with spurts of blood she greedily drank as she sealed her lips over the two small holes, each pump of his heart bringing more and more of the delicious blood to her waiting mouth.

Harry was in a coma of agonizing pleasure. Each throb of his heart brought a wave of pain, but it was a good hurt. Even the parts of his mind that had resisted and hated the woman now cried out with pleasure with each wave of blissful torture.

The woman decided she had her fill and licked the wounds on his neck. The blood clotted as the surrounding skin hissed and closed. The dried blood flaked off once the wound was fully healed. Harry's body once again went limp when the wound sealed completely.

The woman stretched herself on top of him, her ear above his heart. She smiled as his heart beat a steady rhythm. They stayed like that for a while as the resistance within Harry's mind grew.

It was fifteen minutes later when Harry's mind resurfaced completely and his heart raced. His thoughts followed suit. He couldn't believe this woman had raped him! He couldn't believe she did whatever she did to his scar. She had drunk his blood and made him **weak**! **She made him into nothing more than a toy!**

Harry was filled with white hot rage as he formed a plan within his head. The main component was the element of surprise. He needed to throw her off and get his wand. Then he would **kill** her for doing all of this to him!

"What's the matter, Harry? Your heart is racing. Going so fast I could dance to the beat… Thu-thump..Thu-thump..Thu-thump..Thu-thump...Thu-thump…

What's wrong? Your heart skipped a beat all a sudden."

She turned her head and looked up at him, her eyes pulsing crimson. "What did you think you would do? Throw me off and grab your wand? Teach me a lesson then kill me?"

Harry's face said it all.

She smirked and settled her head back against his chest. "Are you really angry at me? Sure, I fucked you. Yes, I messed with your scar. Big deal, I drank your blood. Besides messing with your scar, you enjoyed everything else.

You liked being dominated by me and loved it when I rode you. The scratches on my thighs are evidence of that.

You were in ecstasy as I sunk my fangs into your neck and drank your blood. The way you moaned without even realizing it is proof of that fact.

You know you can't get enough of me even though you are only my plaything as you thought."

Harry felt dirty as he knew everything was true. In the heat of the moment, he loved the feel of her body and adored the way she suckled his neck. If he was truthful, he would have to admit up until she started sucking out the…whatever it was from his scar, it was rather enjoyable.

The woman cooed, "It's alright, Harry; greater men have fallen at my feet and you have nothing to be ashamed of."

Nonetheless, Harry felt tainted as he lay beneath the woman with smoldering eyes, hair like starlight, and cool silky skin. The woman asked, "Would you like a gift, Harry?"

Harry stayed silent for a moment and then asked, "What is it?"

The woman smiled, "The ability to keep your friends safe…"

Harry asked reluctantly, "What's the catch?"

She looked to the side, "You would be stuck with this ability for three days or until the end of your life."

Harry quirked an eyebrow. The woman clarified, "I would give you the ability to not worry about consequences for three days. If you die before the three days is up, you will simply wake up and walk away; your consequence free period expired early…"

Harry clenched his jaw, "That's impossible…besides, how can I trust you? You raped me, remember?"

She smirked and licked the exposed skin of his chest and asked, "What choice do you have?"

There was silence for a moment until the woman spoke again, "I can hear them, your friends… Run, Neville, run… They're gaining on us… Please, Hermione, don't die… I'll carry you, Luna… We have to find Harry… Where are you, Harry? Please, help us…"

With each word, Harry grew paler and paler as his jaw became like a vice. The woman smirked, "What choice do you have?"

Harry grinded out, "Alright, fine! Just help me save my friends…"

The woman's smirk grew more pronounced as she slid off of him and got off the bed. She commanded, "Put your clothes on."

Harry threw the comforter off and snatched up his clothes and put them on in record time. He grabbed his wand and the prophecy last.

He looked at the woman impatiently. She smiled and asked, "Would you like to leave the prophecy here. No one can get into here without the password and I can't leave this place because of this damnable collar."

She fingered the white metal collar around her neck. Harry looked at her hard for a moment before tossing it on the bed. She smiled at him and motioned him closer with her finger. He moved towards her slowly until he was in front of her.

She licked her right wrist slowly and then drew it away from her mouth only to cut it open with the nail of her left index finger. Blood spilled onto the white carpet below and stained it red.

She presented her wrist to him and commanded, "Drink."

Harry stared at the flowing blood with revulsion and grabbed her wrist and brought it to his mouth. He covered the gash with his lips and gently drank the warm liquid. The woman moaned in pleasure as he drank from her wrist.

On his part, Harry was surprised. The blood tasted sweet but spicy, kind of like honeysuckles with a hint hot sauce. It was intoxicating. Each drink seemed to fill him with power. Then the woman's voice penetrated his cloud of bliss, "That's enough."

Harry parted himself from her wrist slowly and licked away the blood on his lips and wiping the blood away on his chin with his hands which were immediately transferred to his mouth.

The woman smirked at him as she licked her wrist. The gash sizzled and closed before their eyes. She asked, "The power is delicious, isn't it?"

Harry, now finished drinking the last of the blood, nodded reluctantly.

The woman told him, "You better leave. Your friends need you. When you go into the spinning room, say Death Chamber. A door will spring open and that is where your friends are…"

Harry turned to leave and just before he reached the door said still facing the door, "Thank you. I have to ask, what are you?"

The woman answered cryptically, "A hunter."

Harry figured he wouldn't get an answer better than that and opened the door and stepped through. The door closed with a click, leaving the woman alone.

"Good luck. Maybe I'll see you in a couple hundred years."

She headed toward the shower and said, "I think a good wash is what I need right now.

_With Harry_

The room was spinning and the doors were blurs. The metal door had returned to normal and the rest of the doors were unbarred. A low light once again filled the room.

Harry asked skeptically, "Death Chamber?"

The doors stopped spinning and one of them off to the right opened. The sounds of spellfire came through the now open door. Harry wasted no time and rushed through. What he entered was a circular room filled with stone tiers that led down to a pit where a dais stood with a crumbling arch on top of it. In the archway was a single fluttering veil that shimmered in its own wind. From the veil were whispers. They called to Harry but he tore his eyes away from it to see all around the room were Death Eaters and members of the Order along with his friends.

Neville was fighting bravely besides Alastor Moody, both covered in dust and cuts from rock shrapnel that resulted from missed spells.

Ginny and Luna were huddled behind a pile of rocks flinging spells at distracted Death Eaters. Luna was holding one ankle in pain and behind her and Ginny were Ron and Hermione. Ron was mumbling to himself and Hermione out cold. Harry let out a sigh of relief; they were all alive.

On the dais, he saw Sirius and Bellatrix Lestrange dueling. Harry squared his shoulders. Good a place as any to jump into this fight.

Harry dashed down the steps, gaining speed with every step. He launched himself off the last one and sped toward the dais. In mid air Harry cried, "Reducto!"

The royal blue spell jumped from his wand and sped towards Bellatrix. She saw it out of the corner of her eye at the last second and bent to the side. Her hair was caught by the curse and disintegrated into dust. She growled and shouted, "**I found Potty!**"

Sirius jumped next to Harry and said with a roguish smile, "Nice to see you, Harry! Come here often?"

Harry smirked and said, "Yep, all the time to give haircuts!"

They snickered at Bellatrix who was glaring at them, wand at the ready. Most of the hair on the left side of her head had been reduced to stubble.

Sirius guffawed, "Looks like she had a pretty close shave with death!"

Harry responded by yelling at Bellatrix, "I charge extra for taking off skin!"

They descended into another round of snickers until Bellatrix bellowed, "**Crucio!**"

Harry and Sirius leaped to the sides as the duel restarted. Bellatrix threw dark spell after dark spell while dancing around Harry's and Sirius' spells. On their part, Harry and Sirius were weaving through the torrent of dark magic, trying to get closer.

Bellatrix shouted, "Reducto!" The spell hit the ground and raised a shroud of dust. Sirius and Harry stopped moving, waiting for the dust to clear. Before either could react, a stream of red light pierced the cloud and hit Sirius in the chest.

Everything seemed to stop as Sirius was thrown back, through the archway. Just before he passed through, Sirius looked at Harry and smiled before he disappeared from sight.

Harry snarled at Bellatrix before he returned fire. A hail of spells erupted from his wand towards Bellatrix but she did not respond with her own spells. Instead she danced around them shouting at the top of her lungs in a sing-song voice, "I killed Sirius! I killed Sirius! I killed Sirius!"

Harry stopped firing and glared at her, "What the hell are you on! You hit him with a stunner!"

Bellatrix cooed at Harry, "Does wittle baby Potty not know about the Veil?"

Harry readied his wand as Bellatrix continued, "I guess not… When you fall through the Veil…you die! **Ahahaha! I killed Sirius! I killed Sirius! I killed Sirius!**"

Harry was frozen. Sirius was…dead?

Harry locked onto Bellatrix. She killed Sirius… **He would kill her! **

Harry rushed forward with a battle cry, tears streaming down his face, and tackled her off the dais. They went tumbling as they impacted the floor.

"Get off me, you half breed!"

Harry finally got on top of her as they struggled to overpower the other and started punching her repeatedly in the face, breaking her nose and blacking both eyes. She finally kicked him in the back of the head, sending him off of her.

She got up and shrieked, "**Crucio!**"

As Harry screamed in pain, Bellatrix stepped forward, "How dare you lay a hand on me… I'll make you pay. I'll make you pay!"

She stepped just a bit too close to Harry, however. His foot lashed out and struck her wand hand. Her wand went flying and landed near Tonks and another Death Eater. Tonks, thanks to her clumsiness, tripped backwards, but recovered quickly, but not without snapping Bellatrix's wand.

Bellatrix paled and looked towards Harry who cracked his neck and walked forward slowly, "I'm going to **kill** you."

Bellatrix hopped up onto the stone tiers and bounded towards the door. Harry snarled and made to follow her. He was intercepted by Lupin, "You have to calm down, Harry! She's beat!"

Harry struggled against Lupin and watched as Bellatrix made it to the door and sidestepped a surprised Dumbledore who had just arrived. Lupin shouted, "Dumbledore's here!"

The Order's spirit was renewed and Harry used the distraction to break Lupin's hold and take off after Bellatrix. He passed the Headmaster without even acknowledging him as Dumbledore yelled, "Stop, Harry!"

Harry slammed through the door as Bellatrix exited into the Ministry. Harry growled and said, "Ministry of Magic," hoping it would show him the corridor to the Ministry.

The doors stopped spinning immediately and the one behind sprung open to reveal the Ministry. He dashed through, in hot pursuit.

Harry turned a corner and saw the elevator doors closing before ascending; Bellatrix's smirk burned into his sight.

Harry screamed in frustration while slamming the call button over and over. After what seemed like hours, the elevator returned and Harry leapt in and hit the button for the atrium as fast as he could.

The ride took forever, in his opinion, and finally dinged; the cool female voice announcing, "The Atrium."

Harry dashed out of the elevator and saw Bellatrix casually going to a fireplace to escape, no doubt.

Harry poured all his fury and hatred into the spell as he screamed, "**Crucio!**"

A bolt of red energy struck Bellatrix in the side, sending her tumbling to floor screaming in pain.

Harry panted as he felt the drain of the spell. From her position on the ground Bellatrix started laughing in an insane manner, "Well, it looks like wittle baby Potty can use the Cruciatus Curse! **Ahahahaha!**"

Harry felt the most terrible need, the need to make her **beg for death**.

"**Crucio!**"

Another red bolt erupted from his wand and hit Bellatrix who started screaming in agony. She thrashed about on the floor and tore at her skin, gnawing and biting her lips.

Harry released the curse when she started bleeding from her ears. She did not speak again; all Harry could hear was a hollow wheezing sound.

At that moment, he felt sick. He had…enjoyed that. Just like he enjoyed being dominated and raped by that woman… He was dirty…filthy…corrupted…

Clapping filled the Atrium and Harry spun to face…Lord Voldemort.

He wore a black robe and smirked at Harry as his red eyes gleamed from the pits of his serpentine face. Harry couldn't help but think that the woman's red eyes were much prettier and she was also much more terrifying than Voldemort.

"Well done, Harry," the clapping ceased as Voldemort complimented him.

Harry sneered at him in response. Voldemort just kept smirking, "A fully formed Cruciatus and a powerful one at that. You may one day be my equal."

Harry still kept his wand trained on the Dark Lord as he continued to speak, "I have a proposal for you Harry… Come, join me, and together, we can rule the world… What say you?"

Harry spit at Voldemort's feet and said, "Burn in hell!"

Voldemort frowned, "That's too bad; I really didn't want to kill a wizard with such great potential… Avada Kedavra!"

Harry literally bent over backwards as the jet of green light passed over him. He righted himself and intoned, "Expelliarmus!"

The jet of red light barreled towards the Dark Lord who lazily batted it away.

Harry sent spell after spell while Voldemort just continued diverting them with a slap from his wand. Harry roared, "Defodio!"

Voldemort stepped to the side as his robe was shredded by the bolt of silver light. His annoyed gaze settled on Harry and he said, "I think it's time we end this. Tell me, where is the prophecy."

Harry smirked, "You'll never find it. It's locked away and guarded by…a demon."

Voldemort quirked a nonexistent eyebrow and asked, "And who summoned a demon for you?"

Harry sneered, "She was already there. I just hid it in her bed."

Voldemort glared at Harry and said, "Well, let's see this demon, shall we?"

Harry had to say it felt like a claw was digging in his head. He fell to his knees as he held his throbbing skull.

"Where, oh where, could this little demon be? Oh where, oh where could she be?" Voldemort continued mocking Harry as he dug through his mind in an excruciatingly slow manner.

Suddenly Voldemort started laughing, "You idiot! That was no demon! That was a-…"

"Hello, Tom."

The Dark Lord turned to see the Headmaster.

Voldemort sneered at him as Dumbledore continued, "You shouldn't have come here tonight, Tom."

The Dark Lord replied, "You're an old fool, Dumbledore! You should have stayed behind your stone walls!"

Voldemort immediately started the duel by whipping his wand from side to side and then forward. All the air in the Atrium seemed to pick itself up and rush towards Dumbledore, rattling the panes of glass that decorated the upper parts of the walls. Harry was caught in the spell as well and was sent flying towards the Headmaster.

Dumbledore responded by summoning two walls of marble that were fused on the end, forming a corner that split the wind. Harry barely missed the marble and was then caught by his collar by the Headmaster.

Harry, still caught in the wind, seemed to float for a moment as the Headmaster held him with his left hand. Dumbledore didn't even spare Harry a glance and continued focusing on his marble shield.

When the spell ended, the Headmaster let go of Harry, who fell on his back, to jab his wand forward. This resulted in his marble corner to rocket towards Voldemort. The Dark Lord thrust forward his fist which destroyed the marble monstrosity and sent the shrapnel flying over him, impacting the glass panes. The large glass shards fell to the ground and covered the Atrium floor making a beautiful, yet treacherous, mosaic of reflected light.

Voldemort fired off three Killing Curses silently as Dumbledore flicked his wand at the fountain at the center of the atrium. The centaur came to life and leapt in front of the killing curses with time to spare. It turned to rubble from the power of the Killing Curses and left a fine cloud of dust in the air.

The Dark Lord, now on the offensive, intoned, "Fiendfyre!" A basilisk of crimson flames shot out of his wand towards Dumbledore and Harry, fangs bared. Dumbledore responded by summoning the water from the fountain to create a temporary shield around Harry and himself. The water swirled in a sphere around them and then the basilisk struck. The water was almost immediately turned to steam as Dumbledore wrested control of the flame from Voldemort and extinguished it.

Harry analyzed the current situation. At that point in time, Dumbledore and Voldemort had their wands pointed at the ground while they glared at each other. A lull in the battle. Harry couldn't help but think that if he could rush forward before Voldemort could react, he could end this with a well placed blasting curse or something.

There wasn't much of a window of opportunity, so it was now or never…

Harry chose now.

He dashed forward around Dumbledore and leapt into the air for a better angle of attack. Several things happened in that period of time it took him to jump into the air.

Dumbledore finally won the mental battle between Voldemort and himself and saw what Voldemort was planning. He moved to counter it while Voldemort moved to implement it before he could bring up his defenses.

Dumbledore threw up a shield to ward off physical objects just as Harry stepped out of the spells area. He watched in horror as Harry leapt into the air.

Voldemort had summoned a wall of glass shards in front of him just as Dumbledore summoned his shield. He jabbed forward with his wand and sent every piece flying. He did not see Harry and only wondered if Dumbledore had countered his attack.

Harry, within seconds of his ascension into the air, was stuck between the metaphorical rock and hard place. The rock being the blades of broken glass flying towards him and the hard place being the shield Dumbledore had set up.

Harry watched as the glass came closer and swallowed. He could see the good things that had happened in his life: meeting Hagrid, finding out he was a wizard, getting away from the Dursleys, boarding the Hogwarts Express, meeting Ron, seeing Hogwarts for the first time, seeing and performing magic, making friends with Hermione, getting onto the quidditch team, lounging in the common room, catching the snitch in his first game, his first real Christmas, the Mirror of Erised, meeting Dobby, escaping from the Dursleys…again, staying at the Burrow, going to Hogwarts in a flying car, making fun of Lockhart, meeting Fawkes, taking the sword out of the hat, killing that stupid diary, blowing up Aunt Marge, staying in Diagon Alley, meeting Lupin, learning the Patronus charm, meeting Sirius, casting a corporeal Patronus, saving Buckbeak and Sirius, going to the Quidditch World Cup, beating that dragon, saving that little girl from the lake, making friends with Cedric, Fleur, and Krum, staying with Sirius during the summer, forming the DA, kissing Cho(even though it was rather wet), watching Umbridge get dragged off by a group of centaurs, and, dare he say, meeting that woman in the locked room.

Harry sighed, so many good memories.

Dumbledore watched from below as Harry's face was filled with fear and then calmed. He even started smiling a bit. Dumbledore could only hope he survived and that he could get him healed after. The Headmaster was fast, but not fast enough to drop his shield, grab Harry, and put his shield back up. The most he could do was get both of them peppered with glass. No, he had better remain behind the shield and hope Harry survives in order to flee and heal him so that he may fight another day.

Then the glass hit. The first piece stabbed through his forearm, the second pierced his thigh, and the third cut his cheek… There were many fourth pieces and even more fifth pieces; the number of sixth pieces was ridiculous.

Each connecting piece hit Harry and carried him back through the air and then pinned him to the wall. When it looked like it was over, the last and largest piece struck.

It was a meter long, very thin, and jagged. With a flash, it pierced Harry's heart.

…

…

…

Dumbledore shed tears as he looked at Harry. He was practically crucified, blood flowing down the wall like a river behind him. His right eye was open and looked out at the world but did not see. The left lens of his glasses had been shattered by a glass shard that had pierced it and the eye behind it, reducing it to a gory mess. His clothes had been shredded beyond repair and had all been stained red. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, The Chosen One…was dead…

Dumbledore bowed his head and issued a silent pray, one hoping that Harry had finally found the love he yearned for in the next great adventure. After a moment of silence, he turned back to the Dark Lord. Voldemort's face was twisted into an expression of dark satisfaction. He had done, he had killed the only person to ever truly defeat him.

He looked at Dumbledore whose expression had gone stony. Voldemort asked, "Come now, Headmaster, did you expect a different result? In the end, he would have met the same fate whether be it five years or five decades from now. He would die and I would rule supreme!"

Dumbledore responded in a low voice that sounded like the distant rumble of thunder, "Three times now, three times, you have performed an unforgivable act. That is, killing a student under my watch, their safety entrusted to me by their loved ones."

Voldemort stepped back; he had never seen Dumbledore so…_furious_. He gathered his power and readied a mental strike against the old conjurer.

The Headmaster continued, "First, it was young Myrtle. A young woman filled with anguish that in a few years' time would have blossomed into a beautiful lady. Then, it was Mister Diggory, a wizard of virtue who was kind and admired by many. And finally, Harry Potter, a boy…no, a man who was forced to grow up too fast. Hated by his own family and abused from a young age, never getting the chance to live a proper childhood. Somehow, he still had a kind and caring heart filled with love for his friends. He made many mistakes and made much mischief but in the end, he always did what was right…"

Voldemort tightened his legs; the storm was about to open up…

And like clockwork, "and you killed him! **I'll destroy you!**"

Dumbledore swiped his wand from left to right and from the tip came a mist of gold. It hung in the air for a moment as the Dark Lord looked at it in wonder. He had never seen such a spell before. The Headmaster jabbed his wand forward and an arrowhead of white sped through the mist straight towards Voldemort.

The arrowhead seemed to leave a vacuum in its wake because as it sped forward, the surrounding mist followed behind it like a shining streamer. The Dark Lord, not knowing what the spell did, jumped to the side, the tip of the spell just barely missing his arm.

The stream of gold continued on its course and impacted the wall behind the Dark Lord. It created a massive explosion of force that Voldemort would not be able to replicate in a hundred years. He turned his fearful gaze onto Dumbledore and the Headmaster stared back at him, his blue eyes gleaming with sorrow.

Then from a fireplace came a very grumpy Minister still in his bathrobes and slippers. Still wiping the ash from his eyes, Fudge exclaimed, "This better be good, Dumbledore! You're bloody house elf waking me up at such an ungodly hour! Why I should-…"

When the Minister had finished wiping away the ash from his eyes and saw who the Headmaster was facing off against, the Minister could only say this very intelligent response, "I-it-it's Y-You-Kn-Know-Wh-Who…"

The Minster fell on his backside and crawled backwards towards Dumbledore as the fireplaces suddenly came to life. Suddenly dozens of witches and wizards came spilling out only to see the Dark Lord. Most of them were in shock and could do nothing but stare, some screamed, even more passed out.

The Dark Lord sneered at them all and bellowed, "Out of my way!"

He waved his wand and sent dozens flying as he summoned Bellatrix from the far side of the Atrium to him and disappeared in a rush of green flame.

The Atrium erupted into screams, shouts, and cries of terror. Fudge tried in vain to calm everyone down as Dumbledore walked toward the pool of blood that had come from Harry's corpse. He looked down at his reflection in the blood and glass and saw a tired old man.

No one had noticed it yet because it was higher up then people normally looked, they were distracted by the evidence that Lord Voldemort had indeed returned, and that a trail of red and pool of blood on the wall and floor didn't exactly stand out from all the other destruction in the Atrium.

When everyone had finally calmed down at the urging of Fudge with the help of Aurors, the Minister approached Dumbledore. Fudge was sweating profusely and asked in a stressed voice, "Good heavens, Dumbledore, what are we going to do? You-Know-Who has returned! This is a crisis of unimaginable proportions! You have to help m-… Is this _blood_?"

Fudge finally stopped his monologue to take in the pool of blood. He looked at it curiously and followed the trail up the wall and to its source. Fudge's eyes widened as the blood drained away from his face and he fell to his knees. Tears came down his face in streams and asked in a quiet voice, "Stars above, what have I done…?"

An auror came over and asked, "Minister are you al-…Sweet Merlin…"

The auror's eyes had found Harry's body and he ran to the side and started throwing up. One by one people became curious what was wrong with the Minister and their eyes found the corpse of Harry Potter. People cried as hope seemed to fade, they became violently ill at the sight of so much blood, and screamed as terror bloomed within their souls.

When the sound had reached an unbearable level, Dumbledore commanded in a voice like thunder, "Silence!"

Every sound in the room faded except for the quiet…_drip_…_drip_…as the last of the blood drained from Harry's body. Dumbledore turned to Fudge and said in a quiet voice that carried through the still air, "Because of your incompetence, your unwillingness to admit the truth that was right before your eyes while lining your pockets with the money of Death Eaters and trying to quell any voice of opposition, one my students is…_dead_. A young man who had weathered so much, only to be brutally slain because a **greedy power hungry **_**fool**_ held office…

It is unforgivable… You are unforgivable… A hero is **dead** because of you."

Dumbledore's eyes glowed with so much anger and hatred, the Minister wet himself as the Headmaster announced, "I swear on my magic that by the week's end you will be out of office either through diplomatic solution, your own resignation, _or __**by force**_, if necessary. So mote it be."

Dumbledore turned from Fudge as the Minister collapsed in a pool of his own urine and proceeded to take down Harry's body. He vanished most of the glass holding the body and levitated the corpse down to the ground.

Dumbledore sighed as he approached the mutilated body and kneeled down. He removed Harry's glasses and put them in his pocket before closing the remaining eye of the corpse. He was about to cover the body with a white sheet when a scream of unadulterated agony filled the room.

Dumbledore didn't even have time to turn before Hermione, who was in no condition to be up and about, latched onto the body and hysterically sobbed, "**No, you can't be dead! You can't leave me! **_**Don't leave me all alone!**_"

Dumbledore sighed before performing a silent compulsion charm that put the girl to sleep. He motioned for one of the Order members who stepped forward and picked up the, now blood soaked, girl. The Headmaster looked at the rest of the children and felt his heart break. They were all sobbing, some quietly, some just as loudly as Miss Granger.

The Headmaster turned back to Harry's body and conjured the white sheet he had attempted to make before. He laid it over the body and tucked it around the edges. The sheets stained red immediately.

He stood and took off one of his many rings and tapped it, "Portus."

It glowed blue for a moment and he threw it to Moody. Dumbledore informed him, "It will go off in one minute. Make sure all the children are touching it. It will take them to the Hospital Wing. Also…clean up Miss Granger before you go."

Moody nodded, "You can count on me, Albus."

The Headmaster nodded back before charming another one of his rings without taking it off. He kneeled down and picked up Harry's body and paid no mind to the blood slowly making its way down his front. He felt the tug of the portkey and disappeared into the ether as he zoomed to Hogwarts

**A.N.: This is a preview of one of the two stories I am seriously writing at the moment. I've held of publishing it until I had a few chapters and I still don't plan on publishing the story. This is simply a teaser in order to get some feedback. This isn't even the entire prologue. I cut off the last nine and a half pages or so.**

**Most of you can guess what this story will be about and I can assure you that I will try to at least reference classical supernatural beliefs. For those of you who still don't know what this story will most likely be about, wait until I publish it in its entirety. Please review as that was the entire purpose of publishing this teaser.**

**Thanks,**

**Cerberus**


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